The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is arguably the greatest of all films about what it means to be British.

As Michael Powell noted ‘It’s a 100% British film but it’s photographed by a Frenchman, it’s written by a Hungarian, the musical score is by a German Jew, the director was English, the man who did the costumes was a Czech; in other words, it was the kind of film that I’ve always worked on with a mixed crew of every nationality, no frontiers of any kind.’

Painstakingly restored to digital by The Film Foundation, overseen by Scorsese and Powell’s widow Thelma Schoonmaker, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is the re-release of the year.

Blimp will rise again in cinemas in the UK and across the world from Friday 18 May.